STUDY ON THE POTENTIAL RISKS ANALYSIS APPROACH FOR TUNNEL FIRES IN EXPRESSWAY TUNNELS

Abstract

 The devastation caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 has taught us, once again, the importance of taking measures in advance to prevent foreseeable disasters. In Europe, an EU directive was issued after a major tunnel fire, and member states have enacted and are implementing stricter tunnel safety standards. And the accident at Sasago tunnel in 2012, has reasserted the importance of putting “safety first.” With progress in simulation technology to reproduce tunnel fires accurately, it is now possible to identify potentially high-risk tunnels before fires occur. Our study on the current issues and their countermeasures are reported in this paper.